From a dhoti-clad village guy in Lagaan to an uber cool urban youth in DCH, Aamir’s transition was praiseworthy. I’m thankful people loved it.”įrom Saif’s silver pants to Aamir’s leather trousers, from Preity Zinta’s wet curls to Suchitra Pillai’s tiny braids – Dil Chahta Hai’s song “Koi Kahe” was just one sample of how the film’s detailing towards the representation of its characters worked wonders – they turned into pieces of everything our youth was doing off screen, even if it didn’t stick to your regular Bollywood norm.Īlso read | Ten must-watch Bollywood and indie movies from the 21st centuryĭil Chahta Hai came just two months after Aamir Khan’s other cult film, Lagaan in the same year. You do the best that you possibly can, you have a great time making the film. Ritesh said, “We found an opportunity to create content for an audience which was untapped.” Farhan reiterated, “I don’t know if you can plan something like this. The cast and crew was indulging in something they hadn’t done before, they risked it all. The film boasts of brilliant performances, as if it was a role play for the actors, as if they weren’t acting but just living their parts with camera rolling in one corner of the room. I believe it is your body, your mind, your face attached to the character,” Akshaye Khanna told. You bring a little bit of yourself to every character you do, there is no way of escaping that. “I don’t analyse my work as such, but I love to hear when people talk about it. Akshaye Khanna agrees about his character Sid too. He looks to be in absolute control of his Sameer. Saif’s famous phone call scene with girlfriend Priya still remains the actor’s best. Also, there was a very superstitious culture at that time, people said if something is working, don’t change it, not even the role, just keep doing it!” Saif added.Īlso read | Saif Ali Khan: The quintessential director’s actor “The way it was written, the behind-the-scenes, the clothes, the haircut with gel… People said that’s dangerous because you’re going to look like a dude from Bandra. Sonali Kulkarni underwent a drastic makeover to play Pooja in Dil Chahta Hai.
Farhan’s then wife and celebrity hairstylist Adhuna Bhabani did the needful.
In fact the entire cast got their looks redesigned with hairdos playing a crucial part. Saif, who had a certain ‘look’ in his films took the biggest risk – of cutting his long hair, short. He called it good cinema and just said that I have to do it.” I mentioned them and he said DCH is three times all those films put together. I told Aamir that I was playing hero in other films, and he asked which ones. In a previous interview with Mid Day, Saif shared, “I wasn’t sure about doing the film, because it was like a third lead. To pull him out of his ‘Ole Ole’ image and turn him into Sameer wasn’t easy. This was when Saif was happily doing films like Yeh Dillagi and Main Khiladi Tu Anari. Aamir Khan, who was already on board, convinced Saif too. The casting of Dil Chahta Hai played an integral part. For me, that was nice to explore in a film and show it in a way that truly exists in the society, as opposed to the over-the-top dramatic “tu mera yaar hai…” It’s nice people identified with that,” Farhan once told NDTV. “Because of all that’s happened in my life, I’ve always been very dependent on my friends.
He lifted instances from his personal life, cut it into three central characters played by Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna and pasted it in a screenplay that looked authentic. Co-producer, writer and director Farhan Akhtar came to the rescue. All filmmakers did was provide them with dreamy landscapes, an aspirational NRI lifestyle and a larger-than-life canvas that was far away from real challenges. The reality of Indian youth, the millennials was getting ignored by late 1990s.